Return Of An Old Friend
by 16thfiction
Summary: Eric suddenly meets up with a well-known face from his adolescent years in Philly, spending time reminiscing and catching up with him. Meanwhile, Shawn struggles with the return of a couple familiar foes from his past: depression and grief. (Story 6 in Meeting The World Fanfic series)
1. Chapter 1

"Jack," Eric winced as he hesitantly sliding a long envelope out from underneath a collection of the day's mail, "Here's what we owe for this month's rent..."

Jack immediately sprung up from the sofa, staring over Eric's shoulder as he opened the letter. Both of them groaned in unison as they saw the amount of money they would have to frantically scrape together this month.

"Man, we can't pay that!" Jack threw out his hand, grimacing in frustration as he continued, "Neither of our jobs pay anything _close _to amount up to _that!"_

Slapping the envelope on the table, Eric shook his head, hoping to loosen up some ideas inside his mind. The two of them had struggled to pay the rent since Jack had decided to share Eric's apartment at the beginning of the summer. Now, they were in the first days of August, and they had both had enough of this fight.

Man, they could _really _use Rachel's help right now. Back in college, they had never noticed how much she had actually helped in paying the rent. Now, in the midst of pricey NYC apartments, Jack and Eric realized they had really taken a third person's extra support for granted.

Unfortunately, Rachel was sharing a dorm with Angela at NYU, as they had both decided to go back to college in the fall and earn another degree.

"Eric, we can't keep battling this issue-" Jack said firmly. "Either we get a third person, or we go talk to the guy that rents us this apartment and figure something out."

Eric narrowed his eyes as he thought deeply. "Do you think Shawn would move in again and help us out?"

Jack shook his head. "I told you, Eric. Shawn's head has been-" He suddenly waved his hands as if he were pushing something into the distance, "I don't know _where _lately..."

Shawn _had _been _very_ distant since his final break-up with Angela. Everyone was concernedly aware of that, and no one was sure what to do to reel him back in.

Shaking his head, Eric collapsed onto the couch, bouncing slightly with the springing of the soft cushions as Jack fell next to him. He blankly stared at the ceiling, which was cracked and stained in certain parts with age.

"Do you know anybody?" Eric asked, hoping Jack knew someone else to help him.

"No." Jack sighed. "Do you?"

"Jack, my only friends in this city are you and a bunch of orphans." Eric retorted bitterly.

"What about anybody in Philly?"

Eric was silent for a few seconds, yet mournfully answered, "No..."

"Well," Jack started with a tone of hopelessness and lackluster, "One of us will have to go talk to the guy..."

Quickly sitting up, Eric shifted towards Jack and held out his palm, pounding it with his fist as he chanted emphatically, "_Rock, paper, scissors...shoot!"_

Seeing that he had chosen _rock_, Jack slowly reached out and covered Eric's closed fist with _paper_.

"That's cheating!" Eric protested with a pout, beginning to try again. "_Rock, paper, scissors_-"

"Eric-" Jack interrupted, glowering at him as he continued, "Just go talk to the guy."

"Fine..."

After a long talk with the landlord, Eric left for home without of any luck. The landlord had been unwilling to bargain with Eric and help him out for even a month, leaving the him and Jack with one option: finding an additional roommate.

_Where in the world am I supposed to find someone to help us out? _Eric thought as he crammed himself into the crowded street. _Maybe we can pick up an extra job...?_

No, that was definitely impossible. Jack was set on returning to college for a master's degree in business this fall, and Eric's position at the orphanage was too demanding to share with another job. A third person was a definite at this point.

Suddenly, Eric stumbled at the forceful contact of another passerby. "Oh, excuse me."

"Eric?"

_That voice sounded like-_

Furrowing his eyebrows, Eric turned around to see someone who he had nearly forgotten about for seven years.

Jason Marsden.


	2. Chapter 2

Shawn was used to dealing with his problems without his family to console him. Many times in his years of adolescence, he found himself unable to go to any mother or father-or even a brother—to help him through his feelings. Cory was always his go-to, and Shawn had always been very thankful for a friend that would listen to his thoughts over a card game or add some

advice during the commercials of their favorite TV shows.

After Jack came back into Shawn's life, and time was given for them to warm up to each other, he finally had someone in his family who was able to guide him in the conflicts of his life. Things started to get even easier when he was with Angela, the love of his life.

She had been very thoughtful of the difficulties Shawn had faced, and she was more than willing to do whatever she could to ease his bouts of confusion and frustration towards the struggles in his family life.

Besides the Matthews and Topanga, Angela was the first person that ever truly made Shawn feel wanted and _loved_ by someone.

Now, she was one of the many people that had abandoned him.

Shawn felt like he was encountering his depression over the uncertainties, failures, and losses in his life on his own. Cory and Topanga were busy preparing for the birth of their firstborn. Jack was getting ready for more years at college to earn a master's degree in business. And Eric—well, he and Shawn had never really shared any type of close relationship.

So, Shawn felt like he was once again by himself. He had no parents anymore, and as horribly lousy and irresponsible as they were, he missed them. He missed the moments—while there were very few of them-when he could come home from school as a kid, sit in the cramped

kitchen of their trailer, and talk about whatever was on his mind with a mom who thoughtfully listened.

Well, now, Virna was who-knows-where in the world. She had recently sent a letter to Shawn, saying that she would never again return to see him. Even though he casually announced it with a sarcastic chuckle, that was painful to hear. She _had_ never been a stable parent in his life, but still-she had basically said that she had no desires to contact Shawn, or even for _him_ to contact her.

Yes, he had no mother, he had a dead father, and due to a recent discover, he knew he had a biological mother somewhere out there whom he had never actually met.

It was painful and confusing for Shawn to realize that he had absolutely no parents to find comfort and support in. But, he had dealt with that reality all his life.

This time, however, he felt like he had nobody _at all_ to currently depend on.

Unless...

Yeah, that might work.

There was _someone_ who Shawn felt he could always confide in. Despite the fact that they had lost contact for many years, he _knew_ that this person would never stop caring about him.

Jonathan Turner was like a father-figure to Shawn, and he _really _needed some family at this point in his life.


	3. Chapter 3

The aging floorboards squeaked and sagged slightly beneath Shawn's shifting feet as he fondly—and rather nervously—smirked at the familiar numbers nailed on the door. He couldn't believe that, after so many years, Turner still lived in this apartment complex. Nonetheless, Shawn found his motorcycle outside, so apparently, he had never moved out.

Shawn's clenched fists felt slippery with sweat as he lifted his arm to knock, hesitantly recoiling at his suddenly appearing at his old grade school teacher's doorstep. He had come here with determination, though, and he that determination forced him to confidently pound his knuckles on the door.

His heart leaped as he stuck his fists into his pockets and waited for Turner to answer. It had been nearly a year since he had last talked with him, and even then, it had been a brief conversation followed by a quick departure.

Suddenly, Shawn heard the clinking of the loose doorknob as it turned, and behind the door stood a surprised Jonathan Turner, still styling his well-known look of curly, long mane of hair and tucked-in, denim shirt.

On the doorstep stood an embarrassed Shawn, scratching his developing goatee and short, messy hair as he anxiously smiled and chuckled a little. While he was not sporting the bobbed hairstyle of the 90s and was about a foot taller than he had been as a 7th grader, he was wearing the black, leather jacket that had accompanied his style all his life.

"Shawn?" Turner questioned what he was seeing in front of him.

"Yeah, uh—" Shawn grinned awkwardly. "It's me."

"Whoa-it's been so long since I last saw you..." Turner said. He suddenly smiled and stepped to the side, gripping the doorknob as he motioned for him to come inside. "Well, come on in! I know the place is a mess, but hey, you lived in it for awhile so I'm guessin' you don't care."

"No, it's fine." Shawn chuckled as he stepped in, glancing around the familiar apartment. It hadn't changed at all in the last seven years.

"So, what brings you into Philly? I thought you told me you and Cory and Topanga were livin' in New York." Turner said, moving wrinkled shirts and empty take-out boxes off the couch as he sat and Shawn sat down.

"Yeah, we do, but I just came into town for a couple days or so to-" Shawn trailed off, hesitant to immediately talk about why he was actually here. "So, how are things going for you? Whatcha been doin' since we last talked?"

"Oh, well, I'm still teaching English-Lit out at John Adams High—" Turner explained nonchalantly. "And that's really about _all_ I do."

"Any kind of..._love life_ going on at the moment?" Shawn urged playfully. "What about Ms. Tompkins?"

"Does it look like I've got a love life right now?" Turner joked sarcastically, motioning around his unkept apartment. "Nah, I don't have any special lady right now, and Ms. Tompkins moved to Pittsburg a long time ago."

"What about you? You were always popular with the girls in the halls..." Turner teased.

Shawn laughed shortly, thinking about how the recent failure in love life was what started his idea to come here. "Ah...no. No, not—not anymore, actually."

"I thought you told me about a girl named Angela—it sounded like you two really had a future together."

Reaching behind his neck and lowering his head, Shawn chuckled again, unsure of how to begin this discussion. "Yeah, but—she just came back from a year in Europe with her father and broke up with me. Didn't really explain why, either."

"I'm sorry, Shawn..." Turner said with tender sympathy and concern in his tone.

That display of fatherly care right there was what Shawn was after. Jonathan seemed to be the only one who had truly been like family to him when he had lived with him for two of the hardest years of his life.

Turner was his family during a time when Shawn _desperately_ needed one. Seven years later, Shawn needed that again.

"Shawn, is there something you want to talk about? You've been acting really uncomfortable."

Looking up suddenly, Shawn felt doubtful and afraid to continue in what he came to get. Maybe, he was just feeling too vulnerable and unstable when he made the decision to see Turner.

"Uh, no...no, I'm fine. I just—came by to see how you were doing while I was here in Philly..." Shawn started to get up, tightening his jacket as he faced the door and prepared to leave empty-handed.

"Shawn—" Turner said gently. "It's obvious that's not true. You came here to talk to me about something—what's wrong?"

Swallowing a sudden, small sob, Shawn chuckled with a sigh as he turned around. "You still have those guardianship papers from '96?"

Frowning and wrinkling up his eyebrows, Jonathan said, "What?"

"I know neither of us really wanted to do this a long time ago, but I want to now." Shawn said seriously, stepping back to the couch and staring at Jonathan. "Do you?"

"Shawn, you're twenty-one now, those guardianship papers wouldn't do anything—"

"Actually, they would." Shawn said firmly. "All my life, I've had to live without the support of a solid family or parents. My dad was never a real dad to me, you know that; that's why you have those guardianship papers."

"Right now, I feel like I don't have anyone by my side, and I _really _need someone with me. The love of my life left me, my best friend and his wife are busy preparing for his firstborn, my step-brother Jack is about to work on his master's—and I don't have any family."

Turner listened closely, never taking his eyes off Shawn as he summed up the pains of his entire life without pausing to take a breath.

"When I lived with you—I didn't see it at the moment, but—I was as close as I ever got to having a real family. Yes, I had parents and uncles and aunts that all lived in the same trailer park, but being related doesn't _really _make you a _family_. Love, care, and a concern for others over yourself makes a family—and my family never had that, but you did."

"You gave _all_ of that to me while I lived here, and I want that again. I don't have that right now, but I _know_ I can depend on you to give me that, because I _know_ you care about me. I knew you did when you made the choice to take me in when my family didn't."

"So, yeah, those guardianship papers may not do anything for a twenty-one year old, but in a way, it would. It would give me someone who's legally obligated to be there for me."

After a pause of silence, Turner smiled and said, "You know I'm always here for you, Shawn. Even though I never filled out those guardianship papers when you were fifteen...I'd be more than happy to do it when you're twenty-one."

Shawn beamed as he realized he was right: Turner _did_ care, and he had _always_ cared. While he hadn't become his legal guardian seven years ago, he had been even better than that.

He had been a father.


	4. Chapter 4

"Jason?"

Last Eric saw him, he _wasn't _a _man_ like he was now. He was a teenage guy, strutting through Philly with a cocky attitude and confidence to woo any girl in sight. He was the guy who got Eric punished by his parents after successfully coaxing him to drive without a license. He was Jason Marsden, his best friend and wingman.

Now, he seemed to be a transformation of the past—an unrecognizable New Yorker in the streets of the city.

The black, messy mullet of his high school hairstyle was gone, as it was now much shorter, slicked and smoothed up in the front with hair gel; it was also accompanied by a faint goatee growing around his chin and over his lips.

Of course, the style of striped sweatshirts with cut-off sleeves had been out-dated for years; now, Jason wore a casual T-shirt, saggy cargo shorts, and sandals as he stood solid in his tracks, staring at Eric and noticing how much he had changed as well.

"Yeah," Jason said, suddenly grinning as he continued, "Who else you think it'd be?"

Eric smiled as well, stepping through the moving crowd of people and grabbing for Jason's outstretched hand. Clapping each other on the back as they yanked each other into a firm, brief hug, they agreed to go somewhere less busy and catch up.

"So," Eric said, seating himself on a bench in the much quieter atmosphere of Central Park as he gripped a cup of soda, which was perspiring on the outside from the heat of August. "What've you been up to? It's been, like, seven years since I last heard from you."

"We were _definitely_ wrong about long-distance friendships." Jason chuckled, referring to his family's move to California during the summer before his and Eric's senior year at John Adam's High.

"Well, I graduated from San Diego State last year, and let me tell you—there are a _lot_ of beaches with a _lot_ of girls out in Cali. I don't know _what_ we were thinking when we wanted to chase girls in Europe when we could've just gone west!"

Eric chuckled; Jason had changed on the outside, but he hadn't grown a bit more mature on the inside.

"So why are you in New York, then? There's only harbors here." Eric teased.

"Oh, I just moved here this month to earn my master's out at NYU." Jason explained. "I just wanted a change from San Diego, and New York is somewhere I haven't been yet."

"Really? That's great!" Eric said with enthusiasm, realizing what this meant. "So...have you found a place to live yet?"

"No, not yet." Jason groaned frustratedly. "Everything in New York is so pricey."

"Well..." Eric began tentatively. "Would you want to, maybe, live with me and my roommate? We have an apartment just a couple blocks away from NYU, and we really need some help with the rent right now."

Perking up instantly with interest, Jason questioned, "What's it like?"

"It's got two bathrooms, a decent kitchen and living room, one bedroom—Jack and I share a bunk bed, but I'm sure we could fit a small bed in there with it."

Raising his eyebrows, Jason considered the sudden, yet convenient, deal. "Could I take a look at it?"

"Yeah! Actually, I was going back there right now, so you can tag along if you want."


	5. Chapter 5

"So," Eric squinted as he concentrated on bringing the jingling keys out of his pockets. "Do you like the place so far?"

"Yeah, so far. It's a nice complex." Jason said, glancing down the halls.

"Well, here's the best of it—" Eric said, finally unlocking the door and stepping aside, watching carefully for signs dictating Jason's first impression.

Jason tilted his head and nodded, pleased by what he was seeing. "It's nicer than what I thought it was going to be."

"Jack!" Eric called. "Come out here, I need you to meet someone!"

Jack bounced out of the bedroom, grinning politely as he saw the guest. "Hey, did you bring us a roommate?"

"Potential roommate." Eric said.

Jack suddenly stopped, and glanced with suspicion at Eric. "He's not some random guy from the streets, is he?"

"Well, I found him on the streets, but he's not random." Eric said. "Jack, meet my old friend from Philly: Jason Marsden. Jason, meet my roommate from Pennbrook: Jack Hunter."

"Nice to meet you." Jack smiled, shaking hands with Jason.

"Same to you." Jason returned, suddenly turning to Eric and adding, "Is he related to that Hunter guy who your brother was always hanging with?"

"Shawn? Yeah, I'm his half-brother." Jack said.

"Wow-small world!" Jason added with a grin. "So, fill me in on the apartment."

"Yeah," Eric said, stepping into action as he motioned to the kitchen. "This is the kitchen."

"Obviously." Jason retorted sarcastically, glancing around at the cabinets and counters. "I'm impressed so far. What else?"

"Well, then there's the bathroom, complete with a shower and what-not." Eric opened a door beside the kitchen to reveal the bathroom.

"And here's the living room—" Stepping across the room, they reached the bedroom last. "And the bedroom."

Jason nodded approvingly. "Nice place. So, when can I move in?"

"You'll move in?" Jack said with surprise.

"Yeah! That's cool, right? Classes start in a couple days."

"Of course!" Eric said. "You can move in today, if you need to!"

"Well, that's great! I'll go get my suitcases from the hotel." Jason said, starting for the door. "Be back in 30 minutes."

As the door shut with an echo through the small apartment, Eric sighed calmly before shouting in sudden excitement. "We did it! We got ourselves a roomie!"

Jack jumped at Eric's outburst, then smiled as he became just as pumped as Eric. "We're not gonna die! We can pay the rent now!"

"Life is good, Jack! Good, indeed!"


	6. Chapter 6

Topanga and Amy softly smiled with appreciation as they sat beside each other, watching Cory and Alan pouting in frustration as they assembled a brand-new baby crib. They had themselves puffed up with confidence before they had started fumbling through the instruction manual, thinking it was going to be much easier than it actually was.

Now, as they nearly snapped any time someone said something to them-agitated, sweaty, and not anywhere near finished-it was just amusing for the girls to watch.

"You know," Cory said, panting a little as he pushed himself onto his knees, observing with a furrowed brow what little they had put together so far. "I never knew putting together a baby crib could ever be this hard—"

"You wanna trade places, honey?" Topanga smiled with complacency, raising her eyebrows as she continued, "I'll let you carry our child around 24/7, and _I'll _put together the crib. That sound easier?"

Cory, still searching for his second wind as he propped his hands on his hips, blankly stared across the room as he considered Topanga's proposition. He looked up at Topanga, shaking his head and breathlessly saying, "Thanks, but you can keep that little rascal."

Topanga smirked, pleased with herself as she remarked, "Yeah, and I'm sure you'd _love_ the morning sickness, because I know you _really_ enjoy throwing up."

Cory just ignored her, smiling as he focused on helping his dad snap in a wooden leg. He had been owned by his witty wife again, and it was always better to turn his back, grin, and nod.

"Your mom made me build one of these each time we had kid, Cor." Alan said, his arms shaking as he forced another part into its place. "She would never use the same one twice, and I _still _can't figure out why—" Alan stated the last sentence loudly and with emphasis, glowering up at his wife, who was smiling back at him.

"And now you can help your _grown_ children put together a crib for _every_ child they have." Amy smiled smugly.

Alan, with serious desperation in his tone, turned to Cory as he pointed a wooden piece of the disassembled crib at him, "I forbid you to have any more kids."

Cory exhaled sharply as he finally locked a bolt in place, pivoting around and fiercely directing the screwdriver towards Topanga. "This _will_ be the last kid we're having, okay?"

Topanga shrugged, a taunting grin stretched across her lips as she responded, "We'll see..."

Tightening his grip on the sweaty screwdriver, Cory grinned maniacally as he hissed through his teeth, "So help me, I willslam _this screwdriver_ into my _forehead_—"

"Okay, Cory—" Topanga said abruptly, still smiling. "I think both of you can take a break now."

Just then, as the doorbell sing-songed through the apartment, Topanga slowly slid herself off the bed, supporting her distended stomach with her free hand.

"I'll get it, honey." Amy said, immediately placing her hands on Topanga's shoulders to keep her from getting up.

"Oh, it's fine, Amy, I can—"

"Stay." Amy said firmly, leaving to answer the door as Topanga gingerly pushed herself back onto the bed with assist from Cory. He gently sat next to his wife, wrapping his arm around her as she grimaced from the pressure of the baby; being pregnant was _so much_ harder on her body than Topanga had ever imagined.

"You sure you don't wanna trade places?" Topanga said, pleadingly glancing at her husband, who just leaned over and softly kissed her.

Meanwhile, Amy had opened the door to find a face she never thought she'd see again.

"Jason Marsden!" she said, smiling delightfully as she let him in. "Wow, I haven't seen you in years!"

"Mrs. M, you haven't changed a bit!" Jason said in his kiss-up, yet polite way of greeting her, shaking her hand as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, stop." Amy smiled. Apparently, he still hadn't out grown his sly attitude.

"Where's the rest of the Matthews crew?" Jason said.

"Oh, they're in the bedroom putting together a baby crib—" Amy responded, turning to call them out into the living room. "Guys, an old someone dropped to say hi!"

"A baby what?" Jason questioned with confusion, then suddenly smirked and said, "Mrs. M, are you pregnant?"

"Ha, of course not." Amy said with less amusement towards his attitude this time. "Cory's wife is."

"Well, you obviously added another kid to the family while I was in Cali, cause I don't remember this little squirt." Jason said, bending down to eye level and smiling at 2 &amp; 1/2 year old Josh.

"Right, I forgot you've never met my youngest." Amy said, picking up Josh and propping him on her hips as she introduced him to Jason. "This is Joshua. He's nearly three years old."

"Hey, bud." Jason said as he stuck out his palm. "High five?"

Josh shyly smiled as he laid his head on his mother's shoulder, uncertain of this random stranger.

"Marsden?" Cory said with a puzzled smile, shaking Jason's outstretched hand. "What're you doing in New York?"

"Eric's letting me share his apartment with him and his friend while I'm attending NYU." Jason responded.

"Oh, well, welcome to the Big Apple, then!" Cory said.

"Hey, Jason." Alan smiled as he firmly shook hands with him. "Good to see you again."

"Same to you, Mr. M." Jason grinned. "It's good to see _all_ of you again, I missed you guys."

"Well, I'm glad you're back." Eric said, grabbing his shoulders from behind and smiling. "I missed ya, Marsden."

"So did I, Matthews."


End file.
